The Holy See, on Friday, prohibited a Polish bishop emeritus from participating in any public celebrations and meetings. The bishop was prohibited following an investigation into accusations of negligence in a cases of sex abuse committed by priests subordinate to him. Bishop Tomasz Rakoczy was ordered to live his life “in the spirit of repentance […]

The Vatican on Monday said the Catholic Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions despite their “positive elements”, saying it was impossible for God to “bless sin”. The powerful Vatican office responsible for defending church doctrine, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), issued a response to the question, “Does […]

Pope Francis inaugurated the full reopening of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Monday and Catholic churches across Italy held public Masses for the first time in two months, in the latest easing of coronavirus restrictions. Francis said a private Mass in a side chapel where St. John Paul II is buried to commemorate […]

Italy has seen a small dip in the number of new coronavirus infections. However, daily fatalities have risen slightly to 760, as the country still waits to flatten the curve. The death toll rose by 760 to 13,915, while the number of confirmed cases hit 115,242— up from 110,574 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Vatican recorded […]

The director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni reported on Friday that the first case of coronavirus infection has been reported in the Vatican City. He noted that the patient was discovered on Thursday and that emergency services are sanitising the area. Italian health authorities have been notified about the case. There is […]

The Vatican confirmed the walled city-state’s first case of the new coronavirus Friday and closed some offices as a precaution while Pope Francis continued recovering from a cold. Vatican City’s health clinic, which is used by Vatican employees and their families, was shuttered for sanitizing following the positive test result received Thursday, Vatican spokesman Matteo […]

Pope Francis cancelled official engagements for the third day in a row Saturday as he battled an apparent cold. The 83-year-old pope, who lost part of a lung to a respiratory illness as a young man, has never cancelled so many official audiences or events in his seven-year papacy. Francis is, however, continuing to work […]

Pope Francis told the Legion of Christ religious order Saturday it still has a long road of reform ahead, making clear that 10 years of Vatican-mandated rehabilitation hadn’t purged it of the toxic influences of its paedophile founder. In a prepared speech, Francis told the Legion’s new superiors a “very vast field” of work was […]

Pope Francis has reportedly taken ill and cancelled an event at a Rome basilica as coronavirus locks downtowns in northern Italy.

Britain’s newly-crowned WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been invited to the White House and to the Vatican his promoter told The Daily Telegraph although the boxer appears keener to go touring in his beloved caravan. The 31-year-old’s demolition of American Deontay Wilder on Saturday captured the imagination of the general public as it represented […]

Pope Francis considers a recent controversy with his predecessor, Benedict XVI, regarding priestly celibacy “closed,” a media report said on Thursday. Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of the leftist La Repubblica newspaper, is an atheist who has struck up a surprising friendship with Francis. His paper, however, published his interview. Scalfari, using indirect speech, said the […]

 Bishops in Germany have defended a national reform process and denied that their efforts are leading to a rift with the Vatican in the aftermath of sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in recent years. Felix Genn, bishop of the German city of Muenster, said the church needed to develop a more […]

Vatican spokesman, deputy resign

The Vatican on Saturday announced a historic accord with China on the appointment of bishops in the Communist country as Pope Francis recognised seven Beijing-appointed bishops in a move that could pave the way for a rapprochement between the Catholic Church and the world’s most populous country.

A South African man has been ordered to leave Italy after flying his drone near the Vatican, Italian police said on Wednesday.